Azyumardi AZRA

VOICE

Academic Prize

■Date: Sunday, September 21, 17:00-19:00■Venue: Event Hall B2F, ACROS Fukuoka■Participants: 150

Democratizing and Growing Indonesia: Ties between Japan, the West, and the Islamic World

Part 1: Lecture

Part 2: Panel Discussion

●CoordinatorSHIMIZU HiromuProfessor, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University

NAKAMURA MitsuoProfessor Emeritus, Chiba University

OHGATA SatomiProfessor, Faculty of International Studies, Kyushu International University

●Panelist ●Panelist

P u b l i cLecture

School VisitDate: Friday, September 19, 15:10-16:00Venue: Auditorium, Fukuoka Chuo High School

Date: Friday, September 19, 16:30-17:30Venue: Seminar Room, Fukuoka Asia Business Center

Academic Exchange Session

Building a Harmonious Society by Pancasila: Promoting Closer Bilateral Tie by New Government

Rewarded Efforts – Proof of a Stable Society

Indonesia is a country of multiculturalism and has various and different traditions and religions. 88.7% of the entire Indonesian pop-ulation of 245 million, or over 200 million people, believe in Islam, however it is not a Moslem country and the state religion is not speci-fied. Indonesia is built upon Pancasila, or the official philosophical foundation of the Indonesian state, comprising five principles: (1) belief in the divinity of God; (2) the unity of Indonesia; (3) just and civilized humanity; (4) democracy; and (5) social justice for all people of Indonesia. These are the important foundation of the country and religiously friendly principles. Islam in Indonesia attaches a high value to moderateness, peacefulness and tolerance, therefore coexists with local cultures and other religions.

There are major Islamic organizations established on citizen soci-ety in Indonesia. The biggest organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, is called NU by its capital letters, and its members have reached 40 million. One more organization is Muhammadiyah and it has established 13,000 schools from kindergartens to universities. They serve as bridge between the government and the grass-roots and play a social conciliatory role. These Islamic organizations are not found in other

Prof. NAKAMURA Mitsuo, a professional who has engaged in the study of Indonesia for 40 years, introduced Prof. AZRA from three angles, as a researcher and historian, an educator, and an intellectual. Prof. AZRA personifies democratically growing Indonesia, and is a bridge person between the Islamic world, Japan and the Western world. His book, which is considered to be must-read for Islamic study, based on Arabic biography of an Islamic scholar, introduces unique Islamic cultural zone which was formed in 17 and 18th century in extensive areas from the Middle East to Indonesia. Prof. NA-KAMURA also added that Prof. AZRA established a medical faculty in Syarif Hidayatullah State Institute for Islamic Studies to make it a university, and at that time received a loan agreement of three billion yen from Japanese government.

Upon hearing this, Prof. SHIMIZU Hiromu commented that in addition to Prof. AZRA’s own effort and fortune to gain his present position, rewarded efforts are a proof of stability of the society, and that’s the true reason for his success. Prof. OHGATA Satomi, a researcher of women and companies in Indonesia, has studied change in women’s consciousness in the light of wearing scarfs. She explained that the analysis of the study showed rising awareness of complying with the Islamic law among Indonesian society.

Prof. AZRA then answered a question from the audience as to why there occur no confrontations in Indonesia, and mentioned Islam in Indonesia is highly encompassing, tolerant and peaceful.

countries, and it is considered that they contribute to moderateness of our country. We are fortunate to have these organizations in our coun-try and maintain the social stability based on these organizations.

In July this year, there was a presidential election in our country. It took place peacefully without sacrificing human life, and Mr. Jokowi, the former Governor of Jakarta was elected. Our country is democrat-ic just like Japan, and there already exist economic ties between Indo-nesia and Japan, but we hope under the new administration, the rela-tionship of the two countries will further develop and get closer.

Indonesia keeps yearly average of 5 to 6% economic growth, and in view of the increasing number of middle-class, it is expected to have a higher growth. The new administration will work hard for improvement of infrastructure such as electricity, power generation, and transportation network, as well as eradication of corruption and Mafia.

Japan and Indonesia import crude oil from the Middle East, and receive trust and respect from the Islamic countries in the Middle East. Indonesia is influential to those countries. Both Indonesia and Japan have no geographical stake in the Middle East area. Therefore these two countries may be able to mediate a settlement and bring peace among the Middle Eastern nations. They may respond to our invitation to a peace conference held in Tokyo. It would be wonderful if Indonesia and Japan can cooperate together to build peace among nations.

▼I visited Bali Island for ten days this year and saw some economi-

cally challenging situations also exist there. I gained clearer understanding about Indonesian society’s current picture and issues to solve through today’s add ress . (Le f t : Mr. Nagae , Jonan-ku) ▼I got why Indonesia is united as a country despite having many islands. But I’m a little concerned Islamic atmosphere might get stronger by wearing scarfs for religious purpose. (Right: Mrs. Nagae)

At the beginning, Prof. AZRA showed maps of Europe and the U.S. and put an Indonesian map over them to compare the width of the country, and explained it takes hours by airplane to move from the east to the west within Indonesia. Then he introduced Indonesia’s population, religions, languages, history, educational system, and Pancasila, or the official philosophical foundation of the Indonesian state, comprising five principles. He emphasized one of the character ist ics of Indonesia is multiculturalism, and that means acknowledging and showing respect to different cultures and customs. Also he added women in Indonesia enjoy more freedom than other Islamic countries.

In answering a question about popular food in Indonesia, Prof. AZRA mentioned Japanese food is popular in many cities such as Jakarta, and “Hoka Hoka Bento” is particularly popular in Padang in Sumatera Island.

Asked about his feeling toward religious indifference of Japanese, he mentioned in Indonesia even young people are interested in and practice religions and they often go to places of prayer such as mosques, churches and temples.

The students intently listened as he talked about religious outlook and lifestyle that cannot be thoroughly understood through TV and internet.

Academic exchange session was held for those in trade business in Fukuoka. After introducing Indonesia’s geography and religions, Prof. AZRA mentioned the biggest characteristic of Indonesia is its large population and Indonesia is the third largest democratic country in the world. He added both the congressional election in April and the presidential election in July peacefully took place without any antagonism, and the election results were handled by the court.

The newly-elected President Jokowi decided to build an urban high-speed railway system. It is now under construction by a consortium joined by Japanese and Indonesian companies. Prof. AZRA analyzed the new administration is aiming for further economic growth by putting its priority to infrastructure development and simplifying government procedures. Asked about the new administration’s industrial policy, he answered it should enhance fisheries departments and build a sea traffic system, not only expressway. He then emphasized Indonesia has trust for Japan more than before, partly because of economic support given by Japan, and Indonesia welcomes investment to their country.

15 16FUKUOKA PRIZE 2014

2014 Laureate

Indonesia/ History

FUKUOKA PRIZE 2014